Commonwealth v. Vanderbilt
Commonwealth v. Vanderbilt
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the court by
Affirming.
The auditoi*’s agent for Mason county instituted this proceeding in the court of that county under section 4241, of the-Kentucky Statutes, authorizing him to list omitted property. The proceeding was commenced by filing in the court a statement and amendments thereto alleging that appellees were-the owners of the stock of three railroad corporations, to-wit,. a corporation created by the laws of Virginia, a corporation created by the laws of West Virginia, and one created by the laws of 1he State of Kentucky, and alleged that all these corporations had organized and were doing business in the State of Kentucky, and became and were jointly and severally possessed of and owned a line of railway beginning at Covington, Ky., thence along the Ohio river through Mason, county to Ashland, Ky., and thence through the State of West Virginia to Newport News, in the State of Virginia; that each of these corporations had been since 1893, and prior thereto, exercising a franchise continuously within
Appellant concedes that it had no right to tax the stock of appellees in the corporations named, unless the corporations failed to list and pay the taxes on the corporate property, including franchises. In the statement it was alleged that the corporations failed to pay these taxes. The appellees were only constructively summoned, and had not entered their appearance to the proceedings, and no proof was introduced by appellant showing that these corporations had failed to pay the taxes, Section 126 of the Code provides that every material allegation of a pleading must, for the purpose of the action, be taken as true, unless specially traversed, except allegations against defendants constructively summoned who have not appeared in the action. Under the state of pleading and this section of the Code, we are unable to see how the lower court could have done otherwise than dismiss the proceedings.
Again, under section 419 of the Code of Civil Practice, it is provided that no personal judgment shall be rendered against a defendant constructively summoned, and the record does not show that any lien was created upon the property of appellees by attachment or otherwise; and, under these circumstances, the lower court did not have jurisdiction to render a judgment against appellees, or make any order affecting their interest in any way. An attachment is necessary to give the court jurisdiction in an action against a defendant constructively summoned, unless a lien is asserted. See Grigsby v. Barr, 14 Bush, 330; Dunn v. Lancaster, 4 Bush, 585, 96 Am. Dec., 317; and Trabue v. Conners, 84 Ky., 283, 8 R., 288, 1 S. W., 470.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.